My First Experience with Chalk Paint - Chippendale Chair

The time finally arrived. After witnessing so many transformations around blog land, time came. I couldn't hold it any longer, I had to give it a try!

Maybe it was my sister-in-law's fault. She was the one who needed paint to transform some pieces of furniture. She was the one who invited me to go paint shopping. Ha, I couldn't get out of that store without something in my hands!

At the time I was thinking of painting a pair of kitchen stools that are in need of a new coat of paint, but no, my eyes went instead toward these girls: My Chippendale chairs, of course, I have lots of those! 12 to be exact. Why? you might ask. Well let me tell you a story.

As soon as we started our family we wanted to fill our future house with good quality furniture. I went to many stores trying to find the perfect dining room set, and after many trips I finally found it! Beautiful Chippendale chairs that cried out loud to me: "high end" :) We bought six chairs but no table, NO. Just the chairs got all our budget! We had to wait to buy the table.

By the way, these are NOT those "high end" chairs we bought at that time.

Time passed, we moved into our new house and still no table! That's when we discovered Craiglist, there, I found a similar table to the one I kept on dreaming about, but it was waaaay cheaper than the one at the store, and that wasn't all! It came with SIX Chippendale chairs and a rug. What a deal, we got the whole package.

These are those CL Chippendale chairs.

They are a bit bulkier than the first ones I bought, but in general they are OK. Lately I've been thinking about selling them, we don't need that many chairs. But heck, they became the perfect project after having ASCP on my hands!
One of them had a damaged arm, that was one more reason to paint them.

First, it had to be fixed. That nail was pulled out, both sides were sanded, and after applying glue, a couple of new nails were driven to hold the arm in place. The gaps and nail holes were then filled with caulking

The other end of the arm received a similar fix. Lots of glue, some nails and clamps was all needed to make it strong once again.

So, the painting began. No sanding or prepping, that is really nice!

After one coat, this is how it looked. For my liking, it was not ready, it needed another coat!

That's when I began thinking I should've bought more paint, a SAMPLE might not be enough! Well, remember I wanted to paint two simple stools not two chairs with so many details! As usual, my project got bigger than what I first thought.

This was the remaining after applying one coat to one chair.

ASCP - Paris Grey

That chair got a second coat, and the other chair its first coat of paint. Only one sample (4fl Ounces /118 ml), covered a lot!

Here you can see the difference from one to two coats.

But, unfortunately, it was NOT enough for both chairs! After three coats (two coats on one chair and one coat on the other), the remaining paint was very thick. I added a tablespoon of water, mixing it very well. Adding the water almost allowed me to give the second chair the final coat, but no. All the back on that chair was left with only one coat. :( I need to buy some more.

It looks like I didn't waste a bit! :D

Then the distressing part arrived. Using regular sand paper (280 grid), I did a light sanding, nothing too heavy.

They were all ready for the wax. These chairs have so much detail that it would've been hard to do it without using the proper brush. It is so good to work with the proper tools!

Very thin amounts of wax were applied in uniform coats.

You can see the difference from a simply painted to a painted and waxed surface.

After the wax dried, both chairs were buffed with a regular cotton cloth and oh boy, I'm happy with the results!

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69 comments
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I love the way your chairs turned out. I've been wanting to try chalk paint, but just haven't found the right project yet. I bought a similar "high end" dining table and chairs when we moved into this house. I bought furniture to last us forever not realizing my taste would change. I kept hoping it would bite the dust for the last five years or so, lol.

These chairs turned out to be gorgeous in your expert hands Cristina! love them! I think you'd have a very hard time parting with them. I think you should keep them and enjoy until you find the chippendales you've been looking for. :-) Finished my craft room already and will be posting end of the week!

Great paint job, down to the very last drop of paint from the jar :)) As a painting aficionado myself, good for you to skip the "before" prepping, since chalk paint is very sticky and thick - and it won't chip away. By the way, the floral-stripe mix from the rug and the chair upholstery is to die for!

How lovely! I've never used chalk paint before but now I might have to give it a try. I really like how the chairs turned out. I think you should keep them for sure! But if you do sell them, I'm sure you could make a nice profit :)

Stunning!! I love the fabric you chose for them too. I have not tried chalk or milk paint before. It's on my to do list for sure. Thanks for sharing your experience. I think you should keep them...but I know they'd go quickly if you decided to sell them.

Just had to come back now that I can comment. You've done an amazing job! Your chairs turned out beautifully and the fabric choice...just perfect!!! Thanks so much for sharing at Amaze Me Monday!Blessings,Cindy

Absolutely stunning! You did a fantastic job. I have never used the 'real stuff' but am quite a fan of DIY chalk paint. Those chairs were perfect for aging with all the decorative detail they have. Thanks for sharing,Krista @thehappyhousie

wow, beautiful!!! I've never worked with wax before... your final project is lovely and its too bad you didn't have enough paint :o) I've been there before!! {ha!} I've got a great cutting edge stencil giveaway going... I think you could use $50 in free stencils :o)www.nap-timecreations.com

Cristina-Those look fabulous! I love not only the paint job but the fabric, too. What a find if AND they came with the table you wanted. LOVE this project. Are you going to paint all 6 of the chairs? xo Diana

These turned out beautiful! For chairs with so much detail, I'm sure you saved so much time not having to sand. I have yet to use the chalk paint,still want to, but I can see the difference with the wax. Thanks for sharing your experiences :)

This post was SO helpful! I just bought my first can of ASCP but was putting off my project because I wasn't confident in how to do it. A lot of the tutorials out there are from experienced chalk painters so they skip over the details, figuring everyone knows what to do already. Your post answered all of my beginner questions AND those chairs look amazing!!! I popped over from Give Me the Goods Monday--thanks for sharing!

Popping over from the "Pin Me" party! These turned out GREAT. I am still waiting to try chalk paint. I think I'm ready! And I LOVE the fabric you chose too. Pinning!Hope you can post them over at my "Best Of The Weekend" party tomorrow. :)xoxo, Claire

I think you should get rid of those chairs! Um, by the way, how much do you wnt for me to take them off your hands?, ONLY KIDDING! Well, I'm not kidding about wanting to take them off your hands! I'm crazy about them! I'm curious to know how sturdy the paint is against scuffing and scratching. Does the wax give pretty good protection?